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Virginia Field

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Virginia Field
Field in the 1940s
Born
Margaret St. John Field

(1917-11-04)4 November 1917
London, England
Died2 January 1992(1992-01-02) (aged 74)
Palm Desert, California, US
Years activeEarly 1930s–1965
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1942; div. 1946)​
  • Howard Grode
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1947; div. 1948)​
  • ​
    (m. 1951)​
Children2
RelativesAuriol Lee (aunt)

Virginia Field (born Margaret St. John Field (sometimes mis-transcribed Margaret Cynthia Field);[1] 4 November 1917[citation needed] – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress.[2]

Early years

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Virginia was an only child,[3] born in London.[4] Her father was Sir John Field,[5] the judge of Leicester County Court Circuit.[6] Her mother was a cousin of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and her aunt was British stage actress and director Auriol Lee.[7]

She was educated in Paris, Vienna, and the South of France,[3] and then returned to England, where she studied for the stage. In Vienna, she acted for Max Reinhardt, and on returning to Britain, she was given her first film role whilst in her teens in The Lady is Willing, followed by a Hollywood contract.[citation needed]

Film

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Field went to the US to appear in David O. Selznick's Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936). In the late 1930s, she appeared in various parts in 20th Century Fox's Mr. Moto film series. Field played Kitty, a ballerina with Vivien Leigh in the 1940 film, Waterloo Bridge. In 1941, Field played Nell Gwyn in Hudson's Bay. Vincent Price was cast as King Charles II, and he wrote about the experience in his book The Book of Joe. "...I came up against my first animals, a whole litter of King Charles spaniels... But my competition was not the spaniels, who were indeed adorable, but the enormous bosoms of the young lady who played Nell Gwyn. They were of such robust and luscious proportions and her dress so low cut that in our big scene, in which we fondled the puppies on a great bed, she leaned over them so far that the censors cut the scene out of the picture."[8]

Television

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During the Perry Mason series on CBS from 1957–1966, Field made six guest appearances. She played Irene Collaro in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Prodigal Parent". In both the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Provocative Protege", and the 1962 episode, "The Case of the Polka Dot Pony", she played the murderess. In the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Simple Simon", Field played the role of Mason's client and defendant Ramona Carver. She also appeared as Lotta Langley in an episode of the ABC series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.

Field was a regular participant on Pantomime Quiz,[9]: 808  and had the role of Josephine Dunning in the pilot for Meet the Girls, a comedy aired on CBS in August 1960.[9]

Recognition

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Field has a star at 1751 Vine Street, Los Angeles on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, dedicated 8 February 1960.[10]

Marriages

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Field married three times. Her spouses included actors Paul Douglas and Willard Parker. Douglas and she had a daughter, Margaret Field Douglas.[11] In 1947, she married Howard Grode, a composer and musician.[12]

Death

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Field died of cancer on 2 January 1992.[13] She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.[14]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (Fifth ed.). Jefferson and London: McFarland and Company. 2010. p. 175-6. ISBN 978-0-7864-4373-4.
  2. ^ Virginia Field (1917–1992) profile, Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages (2007).
  3. ^ a b Woolpert, Kelly (2 September 1936). "Bits of Gossip About Hollywood's Film Folk". The Vidette-Messenger. Indiana, Valparaiso. United Press. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Hollywood Round-Up". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. United Press. 26 August 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "the Hollywood Roundup". The Times. Indiana, Hammond. United Press. 9 November 1936. p. 14. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Actress' Father Dies". Albuquerque Journal. New Mexico, Albuquerque. Associated Press. 12 December 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 10 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ "Virginia Field – The Private Life and Times of Virginia Field. Virginia Field Pictures". Glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  8. ^ Price, Vincent. The Book of Joe. Doubleday & Company, Inc.: Garden City, New York, 1961. [ISBN missing]
  9. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0786464777. p. 678.
  10. ^ "Virginia Field". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Divorced Actress Wins Court Suit". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. Associated Press. 29 November 1960. p. 22. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "Virginia Field Weds". The Monroe News-Star. Louisiana, Monroe. Associated Press. 7 April 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ "Virginia Field, Actress in Films, is Dead at 74". The New York Times. 9 January 1992. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  14. ^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476625997.
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